The PRR No. 4876 was one of the highly popular GG-1s built by General Electric in 1940. The GG-1's body was a long single unit formed as a bridge truss and the driver's cab was set up high to protect the crew. In January 1953, the PRR No. 4876 was headed to Washington from Boston for President Eisenhower's inauguration. The No. 4876 made a stop in Rhode Island and discovered that the angle cock between the third and fourth car was in the closed position.

When the train arrived in New Haven, the diesel locomotive was switched out with a New Haven Railroad electric locomotive, three additional cars were added, and an additional crew was brought on board. When the train arrived in New York, the NHRR electric locomotive was switched out with PRR No. 4876. On route to Baltimore from New York, the train applied its brakes 14 times without any problems. When the No. 4876 was about two miles away from Union Station, the engineer applied the brakes but realized that they worked with only a few of the cars. The crew alerted the stationmaster to clear the terminal. The No.4876 smashed through the stationmaster's office and the main news stand and slid along the terminal floor until it and two cars fell through the floor. Luckily, no one was killed in this accident, but over 80 people were injured.

It was discovered that the cause of the accident was a closed angle cock on the fourth car, which had been the fifth car when the locomotive stopped in Rhode Island. When the No. 4876 stopped in Baltimore, the station crew failed to notice the closed angle cock on the fourth car.

The No. 4876 remained in Union Station until after President Eisenhower's inauguration. Shortly after, the No. 4876 was cut into three separate pieces and removed from the basement of Union Station. It was sent to the shops in Altoona, Pennsylvania to be rebuilt. When the No. 4876 emerged from the shops, it was painted Tuscan red and returned to service. The No. 4876 was in service another 40 years and is one of many GG1s on display at railroad museums throughout the country. In 1976, the No. 4876 was acquired by Penn Central and was used by NJ DOT for the South Amboy Commuter Service. The NJ DOT No. 4876 was retired in 1983.